Bessie Smith's Blues
"Jailhouse Blues;" "Young Woman's Blues;" "Backwater Blues"
Songs
By: Bessie Smith
Date: 1923–1927
Source: Smith, Bessie. "Jailhouse Blues" recorded September 21, 1923. Copyright 1931 (renewed), 1974 by Frank Music Corp. "Young Woman's Blues" recorded October 1926 on Columbia 14179-D. Empress Music, 1927. "Backwater Blues" recorded February 17, 1927, on Columbia 14195-D. Lyrics reproduced in Davis, Angela Y., Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. New York: Pantheon, 1998.
About the Musician: Known as the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith (189?–1937) was born into poverty in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Orphaned at a young age and raised by siblings, Smith earned money as a street musician and started touring with a vaudeville show as a dancer in 1912. A protégé of legendary blueswoman "Ma" Rainey, she eventually became the most respected African American singer...
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1920's The Arts Primary Sources
The 1920's: Primary Sources
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